I don’t know when I will “get over” Jim’s death. Tonight, for the first time, I am listening to an “all Jim Carroll” rotation on my iPod and crying my eyes out. It’s been seven months since he died. He was not only my favorite subject of study; he was my friend. I cannot express what it’s like to listen to what my iPod selects for me. Jim’s voice was such a unique thing in the universe. The world is much less without Jim Carroll. I miss him so much!
I am still receiving emails from people who have just heard the sad news that Jim Carroll is no more. If you are just learning about this, here is what I originally posted on the homepage of Catholicboy.com and on the Carroll email lists:
I am very sad to let you know that Jim Carroll died on September 11, 2009.
He was at his desk working when he passed away.
My initial announcement went on to mention plans for Jim’s wake and funeral. As these events are now in the past, I think it’s appropriate to share my documentation of the ways in which people who loved Jim mourned his death and celebrated his life.
Funeral Rites
The wake was held on 9/15/09.
A funeral mass was held (in high Catholic style) on Wednesday 9/16 at Our Lady of Pompeii, NYC.
Jim Carroll was buried at St. Peter’s Cemetery in Haverstraw, NY, where his parents are also buried. His headstone was placed in July 2010.
Memorials
On 10 February 2010, two memorials were held … in the midst of a blizzard! The first was a fan memorial held at Good Shepherd School in Inwood (I need to add details of this). The second was a more formal memorial held at St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery. (I’m still looking for video footage. If you have any, please share it!)
CatholicBoy.com displayed a shroud until 4/9/10:
Jim Carroll’s Papers
In January I went with people close to Jim and packed up Jim’s books and papers and put them into safe storage. It was a somber duty but . . . at the same time, it made me secretly happy to be securing these things for posterity.
Jim’s books and papers are a treasure for future scholars and now live at New York Public Library, where they belong.
See also . . .
- Death Notices & Tributes
- XJim Carroll’s Last Autographs – see galleries until I fix this!
- Twitter feed